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Jan-30-2007 12:13

Hello, fellow Sleuths!

Over the last two months, I've been working on a brand new Sleuth helper. You might not think that sounds all that special - after all, great helpers are already available - but what makes this one different is that it's automated!

What it does is monitor your progress in the game, and extract relevant information from the pages. The information is stored and analyzed, in order to help you determine who did it, and who didn't.

It's heavily inspired by Evita's JavaScript-based Sleuth Helper, so a special "thank you" goes out there.

The application is made with Delphi 2005, and should run on any machine with Windows NT/98/ME/2K/XP/Vista and Internet Explorer 4 or later. Additionally, source code is included (ZLib license) in case someone wants to port it to another platform and/or language (such as Java).

The program can be downloaded from http://download.birdiesoft.dk/SleuthHelper.exe (330 KB), and a screenshot of the program can be seen at http://download.birdiesoft.dk/sleuth_helper.png.

Please take a look at the help file before using the program (it's very short), so you are familiar with how the program works.

(Disclaimer: The application depends heavily on the current structure of the game pages, and changes to this may break the program. Although the application is designed in such a way that it should fail entirely if something goes wrong, this cannot be guaranteed. Use of this program is entirely at your own risk, and any cases lost because of errors in the program should not be blamed on the program or the author.)

May-1-2009 16:16

Thanks Adam, I'll give it a try a bit later!

This reply has been deleted by a Moderator

May-1-2009 22:00

I have 2 FA's and not enough money to pay Shady! Looks like I'll be sharpening a lot of pencils!! Oh wait. I use notepad on the computer. Here come the typing calouses on my fngers!

May-2-2009 04:35

You got two FA's using the helper?

May-2-2009 14:59

As SS said ...use brain, pencil and paper and send all helpers to oblivion. I trully believe that this was one of the things Ben had in mind with all these small changes in the game!

May-3-2009 16:54

Yes Margot. I got 2 FA's using the helper. I actually got a lot more than that in my VH but I had a stash of cash which Shady very quickly depleted! LOL. I think I overstepped the mark by VH ing when I only had one full set of skills. I think if I had both sets (Charm + Tough) I might not have FA'd quite so much. Hehehehe.

May-3-2009 17:23

You can still FA using brain, paper, and pencil. I believe that helpers have reduced that risk, but not eliminated it completely. Try doing all the paperwork in Delhi or Shanghai where names can only differ by one letter, not to mention, making sure it's correct on paper as it is on screen. Believe me, when I first started, that's what I did, and I FA'ed a lot. Not to mention, stats are easily misplaced on paper. But, whatever floats your boat...

Lolita -

As for FA's with the helper, it's still possible... that happens when you don't pay close attention to names and suspect you accuse, etc. I've FA'ed with helpers too, but not near as much. I learned to keep a close eye on things there. Brain is a big factor in solving cases, regardless which method you use.

May-25-2009 14:27

Just to clear up a few things here...

No, I no longer play Sleuth, and no, I do not actively maintain the helper.

However, if there is something concrete that has changed in the page structure, and it doesn't require TOO big of a change, I don't mind popping in and finding these differences to modify the program, as long as I can be sure to encounter the problem quickly and without having to travel or anything.

Of course, since I don't actually play the game, I'll need to rely on you people to e-mail me and tell me that something has changed to break it, and then I can possibly try to look into it, as long as you describe the problem as well as you can.

If you've fixed/changed the source code, I'll be happy to compile it for you if you can't do that yourself. (Even if you *can* compile it, I'd appreciate it if you still send me a copy of the changes, and I'll update my hosted version accordingly.)

If there's ANY part of the source code you need help with - for example, if you want to know how you could add support for some new skill, or you can't figure out how it reads information about the suspects, go ahead and e-mail me, describing what you want to do in as much detail as you can. I've tried to keep the code simple and mostly self-documenting, but I know that it's never easy reading other peoples code, and I don't mind helping out.

And finally, it is indeed true that the helper isn't a replacement for your gray matter - the helper may be Dr. Watson, but you're Sherlock Holmes.

May-25-2009 21:20

Thanks Pigeot for popping back in! Many many people use your helper and it's nice to know your are still around to support it :-)

May-26-2009 04:58

Well said nicnic and thanks Pidgeot :)